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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 447 692 FL 026 310 AUTHOR Breathnech, Diarmaid, Ed. TITLE Contact Bulletin, 1990-1999. INSTITUTION European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages, Dublin (Ireland). SPONS AGENCY Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Belgium). PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 398p.; Published triannually. Volume 13, Number 2 and Volume 14, Number 2 are available from ERIC only in French. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) LANGUAGE English, French JOURNAL CIT Contact Bulletin; v7-15 Spr 1990-May 1999 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC16 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Ethnic Groups; Irish; *Language Attitudes; *Language Maintenance; *Language Minorities; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Serbocroatian; *Uncommonly Taught Languages; Welsh IDENTIFIERS Austria; Belgium; Catalan; Czech Republic;-Denmark; *European Union; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; *Language Policy; Luxembourg; Malta; Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Spain; Sweden; Ukraine; United Kingdom ABSTRACT This document contains 26 issues (the entire output for the 1990s) of this publication deaicated to the study and preservation of Europe's less spoken languages. Some issues are only in French, and a number are in both French and English. Each issue has articles dealing with minority languages and groups in Europe, with a focus on those in Western, Central, and Southern Europe. (KFT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. N The European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages CONTACT BULLETIN This publication is funded by the Commission of the European Communities Volumes 7-15 1990-1999 REPRODUCE AND PERMISSION TO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MATERIAL HAS Office of Educational Research DISSEMINATE THIS and Improvement BEEN GRANTEDBY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has beenreproduced as received from the personor organization Xoriginating it. Minor changes have beenmade to improve reproduction quality. RESOURCES TO THE EDUCATIONAL (ERIC) INFORMATION CENTER Points of view or opinionsstated in this document do not necessarilyrepresent 1 official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVAILABLE The European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages Le Bureau europeen pour les langues moins repandues g gcff )g3UMEacina7 This publication is funded by the Commission of the European Communities Volume 7 No. 1 SPRING 1990 Stu n Breton language teachers. In the domain of radio and television, participants were brought to the studios of Radio Breizh Izel, a government financed bilingual station. In contrast to the DIWAN school movement, progress here is slow. According to participants' reports, only 1.5 hours, out of a total of 13, are dedicated to the language. On theother hand though, participants were informed that the morning news programme in Breton attracts as many listeners as its French language counterpart. As regards television, only one and a half hours a week are broadcast inBreton. Thereis however, a great interest in the media in Brittany, and this was no more DIWAN provides Breton medium education for school children at primary school level evident than in Douarnenez where participants were brought to meet Breton, the only Celtic language still spoken on continental Europe,people involved in the Breton film was the subject of a study visit, organized by the European Bureau forindustry. Here dedicated people, Lesser Used Languages, and the Commission of the Europeanunder the auspices of Doulaged Communities, in November 1988. Participants from Ireland, theBreizh (Eyes of Brittany), work on Occitan Community in Italy, the Germanophone Community inminorityinterestfilms and Belgium, Galicia, and Ssurdinia headed off to Brittany to examine, atdocumentaries. Their newsletter, close quarters, the linguistic situation of that region. SKRAMM, provides all the latest Reading through participants'with Breton after primary education. information on the latest media reports,it would seem that the Participants noted, throughout thedevelopmentsin Brittany. DIWAN school movement impressed populationingeneral, anParticipantsunderlineintheir them most. One participantimprovement in goodwill towardsreports,the major problem of describes DIWAN as a "revolutionarythe language, but as the visitors'providing films for children. departure in Breton education". hosts pointed out, goodwill is not Set up 14 years ago, DIWAN (seed) enough and practical initiatives suchLUXEMBOURG provides Breton medium educationas the above, need to be increasedOf major contrast to Brittany is the for school children at primary school and more funding provided. The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, where level. In a state as centralized as theopeningof theseschools,alsoanother group of participants visited French state, this is no mean feat, highlights a shortcoming in anotherlast year. Luxembourg is an excellent and its progress is indeed to bearea: that of teacher-training. Thisexample of a community organized envied by France's six other linguisticis becoming a major problem inon a multilingual basis, and here, minorities. In 1987, the first secondBreton education, where pupils showparticipants learned much of the level college operating in Breton,an increasedinterestin theorganization of a society whose was opened in Brest, thus givinglanguage, but there are very fewrealityisdividedintothree students the opportunity to continueplaces where teachers can train aslanguages: French, German and 1 3 Study Visit Reports (Contd.) Letzburgish. institutions, as it is in this domainthe language should not be The main difference here, however,where participants were given the developed as a written form. between Luxembourg and the otherbest pictureof Luxembourg's The situation of Letzburgish in member states of the Community, issuccess in mixing its languages. Inpublic administrationis much that none of those languages can benursery schools, all education isbetter, as people are dealt with in considered minority languages incarried out in Letzburgish, thusthe language they use. In other this state. facilitating the immersion of childrendomains,the languageisless A language act in 1984, lay downof migrant workers. German is thenfortunate: in spite of its status as clear definitions on the use ofintroduced during the first year ofofficial language of Luxembourg, it Letzburgish. With its high numberprimary school, and graduallyis given less time on radio and of immigrants, the Act made itbecomes the language of instruction. television than Welsh in Wales, obligatory for immigrants to learnOnce into secondary school, bothwhich is not even an official language the language, thus reducing theFrench, and German become theof the state. As many people speak threat from in-migrationtomain languages. There is a problemWelsh in Wales, as Letzburgish in Luxembourg's national language. here, in that teachers are unwillingLuxembourg, but according to Participants on this visit wereto teach through Letzburgish at thisparticipants' reports, only 2.5 hours rather impressed and surprised bylevel, due to a lack of textbooks ina week are broadcast on T.V. in the the fact that there seemed to be nothe language. Probably, as a resultlanguage. In spite of this rather stigma, or prejudice, attached toof the fact that Letzburgish is onlycurioussituation,participants using any of the three languages ofavailable in nursery school, therelearned much from their heavy the country. Letzburgish is seen asare few people who read and writescheduled trip to Luxembourg, and the language of the home, whilethe language, and Letzburgishfelt there were many areas within French and German are the mainremains for the most part an oraltheir own minorities which could languages of education. In fact, itform of communication, andlearn a lot from the Luxembourg would appear, from reading throughtherefore is seen by many as a model. these reports, that language indialectal form of Low German. Other visits organized as part of Luxembourg,issimply nota In addition to this, participants the 1988-89 study visit programme, problem. were told of the very small amountincluded visits to Friesland, Ireland, Much of this visit was taken upof literature in Letzburgish, and theScotland, Galicia and the Occitan with visiting educationalstrong feeling in some quarters thatcommunity in Italy. D. Breathnach MERCATOR A new Information and Doc- umentation centre for the lesser used languages Following an initiativeof thecirculationof information,thebeing: CIEMEN-Barcelona, European Parliament,theCommission has lent its support toUniversityCollegeof Wales, Commission has been given thethe establishment of an InformationAberystwyth, and the French responsibilityof administeringand Documentation Centre, whichCommittee of the European Bureau certainactivitiesaimedatwould improve the exchange offor Lesser Used Languages),is safeguarding and promoting theinformation on minority languagesresponsible for the coordination of lesser used languages and culturesand cultures, both outside of the MERCATOR. of the Community. There areminorities, as well as amongst the The databank willconsist of approximately 50 million nationalsminorities themselves. At this stage, bibliographical data, a census of of the European Community who,four centres have been proposed asinstitutes and experts, as well as more orless,regularly speakpilot-centres to mark the beginningvariousfactsandfigures. languages which are not official of a computerised data bank, and toMERCATOR will need to be able to languages